Wet Creases
by Ahau
Summary: The island is his keeper, and Knuckles is its.


**A/N:** The island is his keeper, and Knuckles is its.

* * *

There would be pleasant days.

Days when the wind passed through the thick robust branches of the trees. Soft whistles collecting stray leaves and whisking them across all parts of the land in airy swirls. The clouds would hug snug around the islands edges, bittersweet humidity coating over high mountain tops and deep valleys within the forestation. Lakes lap warmly at their shores where water met dirt; grass short and tall swaying with the wind despite it's heavy dampness. The sun would shine brightly to peak through the pockets of green within the trees and the island would come to life underneath it's hot blaze, glowing in its ethereal and otherworldly beauty.

These were not one of those days.

 ** _Thunder clap._**

Angel Island hadn't had the luxury of one of those days in quite some time.

She was instead, _locked_ in a seemingly never-ending storm that only appeared to worsen by the hour. Violent thrashes of lightning traveled across the inky sky, chaotic enough to mimic a distinct display of rage. Ear splitting roars of thunder so strong it managed to shake the island mass through its vibration alone. The usual contrast of wild and gentle laps of wind was absent, giving way to the dense downpour of water descending from a cloudless sky. No pitter-patter of drops dripping onto the back of a hand or gentle rainstorms that sparked a sense of calm and serenity, trailing along with that sweet taste of nostalgia.

No, the sky was at utter ** _war_** with Angel Island. Heavy rain so strong it threatened to sink the land mass from its high perch in the raging heavens; and to top it all off, the guardians home had been withstanding this merciless assault for more than a _week._

The storm barely let up for any pause in-between the clashing thunder and lightning, the flashing strikes dancing around the island like vicious snakes. Almost in mockery, while it caged its prey and boomed off the slopes of mountains to echo into the jungles dark forestation. There was no sign of life, not even to the smallest grasshopper or frog that would usually be lurking in one of the many makeshift puddles the storms often created.

But... even as the atmosphere grew increasingly perilous by the hour, even while surrounded by this chaotic swirl of preternatural madness at their most dangerous of heights, the guardian kept still in his place.

He sat rigidly, on top of a misshapen boulder that lied within a clearing far away from his altar. The meadow, once covered in vibrant grass and small modest florals now reduced to a muddy flood of dirt and decapitated blossoms.

His body had rested there for days. Listening to the resilience of his dwelling as it moved through the seemingly never-ending tempest; the rage of the sky unleashing its fury against his home in a one-sided battle. Knuckles kept sturdy and unmovable, refusing to crumble underneath the pressure of the storm. Even when the surrounding trees began to be struck down and the water level began to rise, threatening to carry him away...

He stayed.

The sky was clashing together with a savage ferocity but both he and his island responded to its assault in silent acceptance.

His shoulders sagged from the weight of the muggy atmosphere, for water had swamped his person. Red fur dampening into a deep burgundy, while long dreads clung wetly to the length of his back. The ends of soaked spines brushed against the flesh of his thighs and dangled heavily on both sides of his face. Looking past his doused body, no doubt cold from the chill that had soaked into his bones, the lids that rested upon the apples of his cheeks smoothed out to a look of peace.

In fact, he didn't look as if he was even there at all. Lacking the tensed narrowed brows and rigid shoulders that usually came with his person. His breaths were deep, slow enough to fool someone into believing he was asleep. No wrinkle of irritation, no grimace from the makeshift waterfall rushing down his face, clinging to the lashes of his lids and flowing into the crease between spongy lips.

The world around him was shut off, attacking him from all sides but rearing in little to no response.

Much more time had passed on without him before there was any indication of movement coming from the guardian's body. There a soft flicker behind one of his lids, slow in its movement but there none the less. Almost as if it was shifting it's gaze downward despite seeing nothing but foggy transparent static shapes within the darkness.

His ankle twitched in the slightest of ways and the _ever so **minuscule**_ return of feeling had risen just enough to notice that...

There was a hand on his thigh.

Heated goosebumps traveled up his leg, though couldn't have felt them even if he tried. The touch of a hand, _that didn't happen to be one of his own_ , was highly unexpected... though not unwelcome. His muted instincts failed to warn him about anything or _anyone_ that might be approaching him. Though with the predicament they were currently in, there was no ethical explanation to _how_ or _why_ anyone would venture to Angel Island while she was still intertwined with this madness.

His ears buzzed at the muted whispers around him, no longer just hearing nothing but the hum of the treasured gem flowing through their island.

The vibrations became stronger... and because of this, his numb body had slowly begun to return to consciousness. Hands that curled inward in relaxation loosened even more as they reclaimed the feeling of blood rushing through their fingers. His eyes shifted once again behind his lids and the joints within his fingers, knees and shoulders began to crack as if he was snapping them back into place despite not moving a centimeter the entire time.

This gentle game of tug-of-war, whom he hadn't been sure he was playing with, began to end.

His consciousness seeped through the cracks almost timidly, pulling itself back from the depths of water it'd been submerged under. He was _surprisingly_ met with his own resistance. His chest for a moment felt as if it was being pulled apart. There was a sudden weight on his lungs, hindering his breath and cutting off what little oxygen he'd been inhaling. Something was pulling at him, catering to his own resistance and refusing to let him leave...

... _at least_ not without taking a piece of him first.

He wasn't sure what it was that was taken, _a memory,_ _a feeling_ , _a_ _piece of clarity,_ for there was no way of telling which. He was held through this cycle of confusion, loss, emptiness and dread all at once, until whatever pressure that'd been holding him down was suddenly, _gone._

Vanished into nothingness, and even though there'd been no voices traveling through his mind, the second he felt himself being released he took notice... to the immense quiet. It was as if hundreds empty, airy whispers suddenly went _silent._ There was a heavy sense of sorrow spiking from the abrupt feeling of loneliness the silence provoked. It was the only moment he even felt the phantom sense of pain since he'd gone under. That's how he knew he was getting close to waking.

...but why was he waking?

Confused, he took back control of his himself and sought out to exit himself from this silence. It was too much for him, triggering an immense wave of despair and anguish to spread throughout his entire being. It was far too strong to have only been his alone. He took back his breath from a force that up until now had been breathing _through_ him...

And released it.

 _Then he_ sighed.

 _Was it still raining?_

"I've been looking for you for days Knuckles!"

* * *

The sound of his world shut off once again.

Rain and vicious thunder were forced into silence as the slow beating of his heart became the only sound registering past his eardrums. After a long week of total immersion, he could finally hear himself _be._ The crack of his Knuckles, the clicking of his jaw, the squeamish grinding of his own teeth. He became aware of everything.

Without any urgency, his lids began to lift from his face.

Clumpy streams of water clung to his lashes, blurring what little vision he'd been granted. Dilated violet pupils slowly shifted back to their normal shape. At first, he didn't directly look at anything... his other senses all overloading at once at not being allowed to hear or smell anything for so long. His nose scrunched up in confusion and the wrinkle on his brow threatened to resurface… until he took a glance down with his blurred vision, to find a gloved hand that'd moved to cover his own.

So he wasn't imagining things.

Dark jeweled eyes followed up that wrist to the arm attached to it, right up until he needed to tilt his head in order to get a full glance of the intruder; dreads sliding wetly across his shoulders.

He knew who it was once the color blue started to return to his retinas.

 _Sonic._

 _"Why are … your island is rising.."_

He was speaking to him. Sternly, with a pinch to his face that displayed his concern. It was an oddly serious look coming from the usual carefree hedgehog. He would have commented on it but the second Knuckles fogged eyes locked with Sonic's rich emeralds, the constant thrumming buzz from the emerald paused…

and then **_intensified._**

The rapid increase in volume was so loud _, too loud_ , almost to a deafening degree. It vibrated his very core, so intensely that he had to part his lips to force a breath out of him. His ears were ringing, so high-pitched that it churned his stomach into tight knots. There was an overwhelming sensation of dizziness and he suddenly felt like the floor beneath him had given out.

His entire body buzzing in terror and anxiety at the falling sensation, alerting almost every nerve in his body at the same time.

Sonic's lips stopped moving, the frown on his face deepening even further in his worry. He made sure to keep a grip on his friend's wrist and shoulder the second he felt him tilting backward. "Knux? Knux!" This wasn't good, the guardian looked as if he was delirious. Eyes unfocused and head lightly swaying as if it didn't know how to stay still. "Get it together bud, you're scaring me here!" It wasn't until Sonic cupped a hand around his cheek did he actually get a response from him. Almost instantaneously, Knuckles hand came up to lock around his. Clutching to him with urgency and desperation to hold something solid between his fingers.

He breathed in-

 _Inhale…_

Deeply, closing his eyes to the held breath and releasing what rigid posture he'd gained from his panic. Those painful sensations were slowly swept away with his long exhale, leaving only a lingering ache of emptiness behind. He made sure to take even more long breathes, enough for him to at the very least, center himself. All while clutching onto Sonic's hand. This time, when their eyes met again the ringing and buzzing ceased.

All at once, all forms of sound and smell rushed back into him, finally fully returning him to reality.

The rush of rain made itself known first, then the thunder... and then the lightning. His ears popped and the force of the wild winds made itself known against his back. Carefully, he released Sonic's hand that was cupping his cheek and blinked whatever fogginess still clung to his eyes. He was met with that worried gaze once again, only clearer this time. More real.

Knuckles didn't say a word and this only made the hedgehogs' concern even more apparent. Sonic's hand was squeezing Knuckles bare fingers with a strength that threatened to break them, thumb rubbing into his hand circularly to seep some warmth within his frozen limb. The other, doing the same on his cheek. Knuckles was staring at him without any pause to blink as if he didn't even _feel_ the water glazing over his eyeballs. Usually expressive amethyst eyes not even holding any glimmer of their usual annoyance or confusion. Nothing, they looked blank and _empty._

"Knuckles."

The air crackled, lightning sounded off with his name. It sounded far too close, he knew it. Close enough to make the hedgehog jolt in place at the force. Sonic didn't have enough time to flinch at the assault on his ears nor sprint himself off the ground.

Instead, a grip much stronger than his own locked around his wrist at that exact second and he was yanked upwards faster than it would have even taken him to blink. Knuckles had reacted with reflexes he was pretty sure his friend did not possess.

The ground behind him exploded.

 _It was ridiculously **loud.**_

The electricity in the air made every single hair follicle on his back sizzle and stand straight up. There was no need to turn around to know that the lightning had struck down _right_ _behind_ him. The terrifying flash of white and magenta casting over Knuckles face told him just how close it was. The force of it so strong it sounded as if something had punched the island with all its might.

The remaining embers trickling across the water surrounding them and into the trees surrounding the clearing. The thunder was louder this time, roaring as if it was promising danger.

...there was a very short and simple list of things that actually managed to spook Sonic the hedgehog half to death. On the top of that list, was the ocean. Now however, with the way his heart was thumping, he was contemplating replacing it with lightning. At least someone could save him from water, what was there to save him from being barbecued by a bolt of electric death.

The hedgehog was panting frantically against his friend but Knuckles was calm as he'd been before. His shoulders had stiffened but the grip he had on his wrist was just tight enough to hold him in place, not to bruise or cause any kind of discomfort.

Balanced and measured. _So unlike the echidna he knew._

To add more to this notably bizarre behavior, the echidna had just saved him from being struck by the most violent strike of lightning he'd ever heard, or even been close too. Without looking at the sky _at all._

The sound of breaking of wood echoed through the clearing and as if someone had _called his name_ , Knuckles head immediately jerked towards his right. Sonic was still stunned into silence but heard the sound as well. He blinked the terror out of his eyes turned to look at what Knuckles was staring at.

It was a tree, one of the many tallest trees on his island that stood but 30 feet away from them. Thick and sturdy, covered in nothing but moss and vines as any good aged tree would be. It towered so high above the clearing even if they craned their necks all the way upward they wouldn't be able to completely see the top. That massive tree was falling.

It was falling in their direction.

Now was the time he felt Knuckles tense and Sonic immediately turned his attention towards him. There was a strain in his jaw that wasn't there before, an intensity that reached his previously empty eyes now bringing them back to life. He was downright glaring at this point.

The sound of the tree splintering in half echoed off into the clearing, the shift causing a gush of wind to blow past both of them. Sonic pressed his lips together and swallowed the spit that had nervously gathered in the back of his throat. The hand around his wrist shook but didn't tighten in the anger he knew Knuckles was feeling.

Then splintering withered off into a tumbling groan… and then stopped.

Knuckles was watching it, but Sonic was watching him. Watching how the guardian breaths became deeper, the crescent moon heaving up and down with every ascend and descent of his chest. Sonic couldn't put his finger on why the hell his friend was acting so damn strange but it was starting to freak even him out a little.

There were a few extra moments of baited silence before they were made aware of the heavy rain once again.

Knuckles shoulders slumped down again. For some reason watching his friend un-tense at whatever previous danger he'd thought there was, calmed him down too. It definitely snapped him out of his disoriented state enough to fix his position in between his Knuckles thighs, and _holy shit_ his thighs were freezing. His pride was the only thing keeping him from yelping at the frigid temperature of his friend's body.

Sonic curled his legs into their own pretzel while sitting in the small dent of space Knuckles loosely pretzeled legs gave.

Curiosity getting the better of him is what led him to look over to the tree again, seeing what exactly had stopped the gigantic thud he'd been expected when the tree collided with the ground.

Sonic let out a low whistle.

Whatever kind of ungodly lightning strike that had been, he was sure glad it did _not_ hit him. The tree's entire length was literally split in half by the force of the _aftermath,_ but managed to stay standing because of the vines holding the sides close together hadn't snapped.

"Damn Knux, your island must really not like me." Finally, _finally_ Knuckles blinked. His head turned towards him, sharing a look of... confusion? As if he was wondering how Sonic got there in the first place. Like he didn't just save his ass from being torn apart by some freaky lighting.

The guardians' lips parted as if he was about to say something but instead, he just stared. Knuckles calmly let go of his wrist and both of his hands had rose up to make a beeline for Sonics' face. "K-Knux?"

"You have to be quiet." There was no stopping the giant flush that rushed up to his muzzle when his friends' massive hands enclosed both sides of his face. His voice paused instead of trying to tremble through his normally witty back-sass when the echidna actually leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together.

 _Sonuva bitch,_ Knuckles was freezing! "Bud!"

"Quiet."

His eyes had closed once again, water that was streaming now his face now falling over Sonic's own muzzle. Even the _water_ felt warmer than the echidna did. His friend was so close to his face, not hearing but feeling every pass of breath coming through his nose.

It was instinct that brought his own hands to reach up and rest on those wrists.

"R-Right. No problem, man." This time Knuckles did respond right away, lids barely lifting half way to fix him with a stare, that was neither accusing nor annoyed. He was just… looking at him?

Sonic had to swallow nervously. Knuckles was acting too weird, allowing physical contact, not snapping at him, staring at him with an emptiness he'd never witnessed on his friends face before. The words _'Are you okay?'_ were at the tip of his tongue, but Knuckles had asked him to be quiet. So instead, he stared back. His legs awkwardly maneuvered around so that instead of being folded on top of each other, they loosely curled around Knuckles waist.

The expected blush of embarrassment that this close type of contact would usually cause was lost on the red-heads face. His face held no flush and he didn't fidget away nor lean into the embrace. Instead, his eyes slid back close and his hands fell from Sonic's face all at once, loosely resting in both of their laps.

They sat there together, stationed beneath the heavy rain coming down on them. Sonic was unsure of what to do with Knuckles bizarre behavior, nervous for reasons that were beyond his comprehension. His ears folded down against his head, his concern only heightening at the strangeness of it all.

It was his best effort, for he'd truly tried to stay as still as he could... but Sonic was not a stationary creature by any means. His hands began to fidget around Knuckles wrists, fingers twitching and curling around the echidnas' own. He looked down to where their hands met and wasn't surprised to find Knuckles fingers wrinkled and crinkly from the water. The gloves served as a barrier between the two, but going by the temperature of the echidna's forehead, he knew without a doubt that those hands must be just as frozen. Sonic's hands started with a squeeze or two before they absentmindedly began to force some type of heat back into his fingers.

Knuckles snout twitched at the disturbance but did nothing else. He let the gesture goat him into twitching his own in response, even though his friend couldn't see it. He moved on from his hands to rubbing up his arms, lightly at first to see the others reaction. Upon receiving none, Sonic went on to move his hands up and down his friends' arms as thoroughly as their wet fur would allow him. Trying his best to seep some warmth into those frozen limbs. The weather wasn't even low enough for Knuckles to be so freezing to the touch.

However, this time around the echidna wasn't as indifferent. One of his eyes opened to stare at him accusingly. He smiled nervously at the other. "Just trying to warm you up bud. You're freezing." Sonic made sure he spoke as quietly and softly as he could, still trying to give Knuckles the _"silence"_ he'd asked for.

He wasn't prepared for the minuscule grin that'd earn him though. It was absurdly hard to genuinely amuse his friend, so the suddenness of the expression caught him off guard. But that was nothing compared to what the guardian did next. He wasn't prepared _at all_ for Knuckles face to slide down to the crook of his neck, the echidna burying his chilled face onto Sonic's shoulder. "Thanks."

 ** _… what?_**

He wasn't gonna admit it, but his reasons for not saying anything this time around was because of the furious blush that even through the darkness of early morning, was visible on his face. What the hell was going on?

Ask him on any other day could he ever imagine Knuckles burying into anyone in a cuddly like manner and he would have laughed his way all around the world and back. The guy barely even tolerated hugs, Sonic himself was lucky to even get a high five from him. Knuckles made it seem like his sudden bizarre want for physical contact was all but natural for him to seek out. Unbelievable.

Sonic couldn't ignore the heavy tension in his gut, for some reason he felt... guilty? He didn't know what the fuck was going on but there was one thing he knew for sure. Knuckles was in an entirely too vulnerable state of mind for Sonic to be comfortable with right now. There was a strong lurching feeling telling him that there was something wrong.

"Y-You okay bud? You're worrying me here." He couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth, he had to know. If not out of guilt, then out of genuine concern for his friends well-being.

Knuckles eyes slid back open in a smooth motion... and then everything around them slowed down. There was a tint of orange rising upon his face that Sonic hadn't seen before. Dawn was upon them, the flicker of rising sunlight cast over their muddy perch.

Orange glinted across deep violet eyes, giving them that healthy fire that shone in his irises... and then they glinted a muted hue of green. The blue hero's eyes widened and the fur on his shoulder beneath Knuckles cheek stood straight up.

It was then the hedgehog began to take notice of the substantial decrease of rain and how the sky was clearing in the most unnatural ways. The air pressure around them grew thicker, disturbing small pebbles to roll right down their shared boulder.

It was when Sonic realized, it wasn't the sun that was rising, _they were._ Mistaking early morning light from the peek through the heavy clouds that the sun managed to spill through. The land mass rose to it, like a moth attracted to a flame and in a matter of seconds, the island came back to life. The sun smiled upon them from its perch above their heads, giving Angel Island the first taste of warmth that it had not felt in days.

Sonic looked around in awe, watching how everything around him began to glisten underneath the sunlight. The murky water around them glittered, the makeshift pond finally at peace; pressing against all sides of the boulder with gentle laps.

This entire time he always thought the island moved and floated at its own course… he never knew that Knuckles was the one who could raise and lower his entire island by entirely own means.

 _…but what the fuck, how was that even a thing?_

"Did..." Knuckles startled him by moving, his dragging his face from his shoulder so he could shift backward and rest his weight on his hands. Sonic's gaze was drawn back to him, taking in his friend's drenched body now lightly shuddering from the cold. Sonic fought the urge to move forward with him. Knuckles eyed him lazily, half-lidded eyes tracking over his person as if he was checking for something. "Did you just raise the island?"

A red brow raised up at him. He immediately recognized the gesture, now that was a look Sonic was familiar with. Exasperated and unamused, not empty. "This isn't new information to either of us, so I really doubt you didn't know I could do that."

"I knew the island moved!" Sonic exclaimed. "I just didn't know that _you_ could choose where to move it too! How do you even do that?!" Knuckles brows narrowed and he right when he was going to give him an answer, he stopped.

"Huh." Now the guardian himself seemed confused. "Y'know what, I don't really know how."

"Knux..."

"Not the specifics anyway. I ask and I receive what I ask for if it's within its power."

"How can you- what? Arghh." The blue hero rubbed his hands all over his face. "You know what, that's fair. Creepy, but fair. And _really_ cool. When you did do it though, I felt it all over my body man. Like from my head to my toes." Again, he managed to make his friend grin.

"How long have you been here Sonic."

Now that was a normal Knuckles type of question. Without the irritation or malice that usually mixed in with it though, but Sonic didn't mind that. He liked the warmth in his friends voice instead. But on another note, that was a good question. _How long had he been here?_

"Uhm…" He hesitated. "I'm not sure, a couple days? Two max?"

Knuckles looked skeptical. "You've been here for two days?"

"Yeah! I mean..." Sonic looked more unsure. "I think. I showed up in the midst of the storm. Tails gave me a ride up. Rouge sent me a message to check up on ya because grumpy pants got paranoid for some reason."

Knuckles stare didn't waver, but his eyes did. As if he was thinking about something but looking in Sonic's direction. This was all still really strange.. just a few moments ago Knuckles had been incoherent and now he was... almost back to his normal self. He seemed softened though, not easy to agitate. The blue hedgehog was still on his lap and they were very close. Sonic decided to move forward in his lap, their bellies now touching completely.

Knuckles startled out of his musing and looked down at where they met. Now, his friend turned red. _That_ was the face he was more familiar with.

"Why are you on top of me."

"Well, you did let me sit here." Sonic grinned. "Kind of pulled me on top of you too." Knuckles said nothing, lacking his usual fire to trade snide remarks with him. Sonic's teasing grin turned into a worried one. "Bud, why were you sitting in the middle of your island in that crazy ass storm. Hell, even better question. If you can control where Angel Island goes, then why were you holding it in the middle of that mess."

Knuckles looked away from him and down to the ground beneath their boulder.

"It's the week of mourning." Sonic's eyes widened and immediately he understood. In response, his hand reached up to hold Knuckles shoulder. The echidna blinked and gave him a small sly grin. "Don't freak out, but the boulder that we're sitting on is actually above a really old burial ground."

"Oh, what the _fuck_." Knuckles laughed at Sonic's horrified look downwards.

"You think you're freaked out. Imagine me, several years ago, digging around in dirt beneath the surface only to come face to face with a bunch of bones and cotton wrapped bodies." His laugh was weak and hurt, Sonic could tell how much Knuckles was actually hurt by this. "You wanna talk about scary? I'm 96.7% sure one of them _moved."_

"Knuckles PLEASE. Wrong PLACE and wrong TIME to be fucking with me." The Guardian outright laughed, head thrown back in his mirth. Sonic wanted to keep frowning at him but he was too relieved to see his friend laughing freely. It brought an exasperated smile to his face.

When he stopped laughing though, the guardian's face went back to looking as it did before. Lost in thought. The echidna tilted his head in wonder, his voice gone soft. "I can never really remember anyone specifically to mourn for... but I'm more aware now than ever that there are others here. Even if I can't see them. Or remember them." Sonic takes in his words and glances at the area around them. Murky water glittering around them as the blossoms of ruined flowers glided to float on top of the water. "They're my past, even if I have no recollection of them, they serve as a reminder of what I emerged from." Sad violet eyes looked back at him. "-and a reminder of those that didn't."

Sonic breathed a sigh of understanding, nodding sadly at Knuckles words. Without warning, he leaned forward to rest against his friend's chest. Knuckles eyes followed him, brow raising in question through his faint flush at the blue hero's sudden coziness. Sonic was pushing his luck but his best friend seemed not to mind any; perhaps due to circumstance, but Sonic assumed a little contact was exactly what the redhead needed. Sonic rested his chin on Knuckles' chest and peered up at him. "Do you always do this?"

Knuckles frowned at the question and averted his gaze from Sonic's own. "No." It was a short answer, and before Sonic could question him further he leaned himself back completely on the boulder, giving them both more room to lay against one another. "I haven't allowed myself to do so in a long time." Knuckles exhaled loudly and closed in eyes. "It's always hard to return to myself whenever I allow us to go under. I..." Knuckles swallowed. "I feared if I allowed myself to do so often, I would eventually lose myself. And one day, I wouldn't be able to come back." Sonics brows scrunched together in confusion. Truthfully, he didn't really know what Knuckles was talking about. Which upset him more than anything. Sonic wasn't desperate for answers but he had always expressed a strong need to understand his friend. Knuckles was one of his longest friends but yet still remained a huge anomaly to him. Being faced with the fact that he wasn't equipped with the right information to do so, especially when Knuckles was _directly_ sharing apart of himself with him, cut the blue hero _deep. "But,_ it needed to be done. For both of us."

"Both?"

"The island needs time to mourn too, Sonic." Sonic's eyes widened in realization. "It can grow as weary as you or me, when not given the opportunity to heal."

Sonic let that be the last thing either of them said. Knuckles eyes were closed, returning to that look of peace he'd recognized on him earlier. Only this time he was sure the echidna was actually drifting off.

They weren't cold anymore, thankfully. The sun drying and warming them generously underneath its hot gaze. Knuckles still felt a little chilled but warmth had fully returned color to his face.

Sonic was so busy staring at his friend he barely registered Knuckles knee nudging into his stomach.

"Get off."

"Huh? Why? You're looking pretty comfortable down there."

"I'm not. " Sonic wanted to laugh at the irritated scrunch of his brow. "I wanna lay on my side."

"Oh, well don't let me stop you- ah!"

He didn't expect him to literally shove him to the side. Sonic scrambled for his purchase against the rock, not wanting to fall back into the cold water beneath them, not after his fur was beginning to dry. That was when a strong hand grabbed at his waist.

He was pulled to the guardians' side on the boulder and before he could whine about how bumpy it was Knuckles heavy thigh came down across both of his. Sonics face _burned._

That wasn't even the end of it though, because Knuckles had continued on his conquest to making Sonic his body pillow and practically planted his cheek against Sonics shoulder. Now, Sonic was on the verge of a heart attack.

"You good?" His brain wasn't even functioning enough to respond to that. So the sound of a squeaky _'MHMM'_ was all Knuckles got. His red arm was thrown across his chest and Sonic was pretty sure by then that his friend had lost his marbles.

"You're not a very comfortable pillow." The absurdity of it all, Knuckles clingy arms and bratty behavior finally made Sonic snap. He laughed, he laughed hard and hysterically; and didn't shut up till Knuckles physically punched him on his side.

* * *

 **Mini Epilogue**

* * *

"Knux, no offense, but you should _really_ get off me."

"Hmmm? For what?" Knuckles asked, still half asleep.

"Because your boyfriend looks like he's about to kick my ass."

"He always looks like he wants to kick your ass Sonic, that's just his face." He paused... so did Sonic. But Sonic was grinning, and it took a moment for Knuckles to realize what a grave error he'd made. "Wait wait, my **_what?!_** "

Shadow was unamused.

* * *

 **A/N:** One out of five, finished.

I've edited this and changed it like... 4 _7 times._

I have a whole planned series following behind my story Special. Focusing on Knuckles and Shadows relationship and Knuckles and the Master Emeralds relationship.

 _Don't forget to review if you liked it._

 _Or if you **didn't** like it._

 _I like knowing both._

* * *

 ** _Needs another Proof-Reading; Reminder for author_**


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